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STROBE Statement-Checklist of Items That Should Be Included in Reports of Observational Studies
STROBE Statement-Checklist of Items That Should Be Included in Reports of Observational Studies
Item Page
No
Recommendation No
Title and abstract 1 (a) Indicate the study’s design with a commonly used term in the title or the
abstract
Introduction
Background/rationale 2 Explain the scientific background and rationale for the investigation being
reported
Methods
Study design 4 Present key elements of study design early in the paper
Setting 5 Describe the setting, locations, and relevant dates, including periods of
recruitment, exposure, follow-up, and data collection
Participants 6 (a) Cohort study—Give the eligibility criteria, and the sources and methods
of selection of participants. Describe methods of follow-up
(b) Cohort study—For matched studies, give matching criteria and number
of exposed and unexposed
Data sources/ 8* For each variable of interest, give sources of data and details of methods of
measurement assessment (measurement). Describe comparability of assessment methods if
there is more than one group
1
Quantitative variables 11 Explain how quantitative variables were handled in the analyses. If
applicable, describe which groupings were chosen and why
Statistical methods 12 (a) Describe all statistical methods, including those used to control for
confounding
2
Results
Participants 13 (a) Report numbers of individuals at each stage of study—eg numbers potentially
* eligible, examined for eligibility, confirmed eligible, included in the study, completing
follow-up, and analysed
Descriptive 14 (a) Give characteristics of study participants (eg demographic, clinical, social) and
data * information on exposures and potential confounders
(b) Indicate number of participants with missing data for each variable of interest
(c) Cohort study—Summarise follow-up time (eg, average and total amount)
Outcome data 15 Cohort study—Report numbers of outcome events or summary measures over time
*
Case-control study—Report numbers in each exposure category, or summary
measures of exposure
Main results 16 (a) Give unadjusted estimates and, if applicable, confounder-adjusted estimates and
their precision (eg, 95% confidence interval). Make clear which confounders were
adjusted for and why they were included
(c) If relevant, consider translating estimates of relative risk into absolute risk for a
meaningful time period
Other analyses 17 Report other analyses done—eg analyses of subgroups and interactions, and
sensitivity analyses
Discussion
Limitations 19 Discuss limitations of the study, taking into account sources of potential bias or
imprecision. Discuss both direction and magnitude of any potential bias
Other information
Funding 22 Give the source of funding and the role of the funders for the present study and, if
applicable, for the original study on which the present article is based
3
*Give information separately for cases and controls in case-control studies and, if applicable, for exposed and
unexposed groups in cohort and cross-sectional studies.
Note: An Explanation and Elaboration article discusses each checklist item and gives methodological background and
published examples of transparent reporting. The STROBE checklist is best used in conjunction with this article (freely
available on the Web sites of PLoS Medicine at http://www.plosmedicine.org/, Annals of Internal Medicine at
http://www.annals.org/, and Epidemiology at http://www.epidem.com/). Information on the STROBE Initiative is
available at www.strobe-statement.org.